Gas-igniter.



UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE B.

TION Oi DELAXVARE.

lVlLCOX, OF NElVARK, NE\V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSlGNMENTS, TO ALADDIN MANU FACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORA- GAS-lGNITER.

:rZFIEE'GIFL-GAEIDN forming part of Letters Patent No. 694,902, dated March 4, 1902.

Application filed August 2, 1901. Serial No. 70,601. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THEODORE l3. 'W'ILCODQa citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Igniters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to gas-lighters and is IO a combination of electric lighter and automatic lighter of that class in which a chemical pill becomes heated up when subjected to a blast of gas.

The object of the invention is to utilize the functions of the chemical lighter to aid a battery in bringing a wire in incandescence for igniting the gas, thereby rendering it possible to use a small battery or a larger one when it is nearly exhausted. The chemical (platizo hum-black) is used in small quantity and is distributed throughout a porous body, such as asbestos, which preserves it and renders it unnecessary to renew, except after a long period of use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a completelighter. Fig. 2 is a section thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail of the igniting devices, and Fi 4 illustrates the shape of the platinum resistance-strip.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A is a handle consisting of a hollow cylinder adapted to contain a battery-cell B. This battery is preferably of the dry type, the containing vessel being of zinc and constituting the positive pole of the battery, while the negative or carbon pole projects from the center of one head of the cell. The casing A comprises a layer a. of insulating material, such as paper, in which is embedded a metal spring Z),

0 the free end of which is bent to form a pushbutton 5, projecting through the exterior of the casing and occupying a free space or opening in the layer 0,, so that it may be pressed by the thumb into contact with the zinc casing of the battery-cell. One of the conducting-wires of the circuit is indicated by c and the other by c. The formeris connected with the spring I), while the latter at its extremity is attached to a spiral spring 0 against which the head of the negative element presses when the cell is inserted in the casing. The spring Z) therefore becomes a circuit-closer for the battery. To the upper end of the handle is attached a tube (1, carrying at its extremity a cage 6, the outer end of which supports the usual pair of wings a -for engaging with the key of the gas-cock to turn the gas on and 0d. The conductors c and c terminate side by side in the middle of the cage and are electrically connected across their extremities by a strip of platinum foilf, which may be coiled or straight, as desired. Specialstress is laid upon the use of platinum toil instead of platinum wire, because foil heats more rapidly in flowing gas. The strip is formed by cutting it from a sheet of platinum foil and appears substantially as shown in Fig. i. Platinum foil has not, so far as I have observed, been used for this purpose.

Adjacent to the conductorfand preferably supported between and by the two stiff conductors c c is a wad of asbestos or other porous refractory material g. This material is partially saturated with particles of platinumblack, the material of which the ignitingpills are commonly made. The quantity of this material may be comparatively small, possibly much less than is used in the ordinary pill, the idea being that the wad of asbestos shall act as a vehicle to support an indefinite quantity of the material, which will when heated by the gas communicate its heat by radiation and conduct-ion to the electrical conductorf, and thus aid the battery in bringing the latter to incandesoence.

The apparatus is used by thrusting the cage into the flowing gas and then pressing the button Z). If the battery is fresh, the current will be sufficient to bring the conductor f to incandescence at once and ignite the gas; but if the battery is so exhausted that it cannot bring the conductorfto incan descence the heat developed in the asbestos wad by the flowing gas will be communicated to the conductorfand acting in conjunction with the electrical current will bring the latter to incandescence and ignite the gas. The resistance-00nductorfand the pill will act reciprocally in heatingthat is to say, such heat as may be generated in either device will act upon the other to raise its temperature and so hasten the ignition of the gas.

It is therefore evident that with a comparatively weak battery and a comparatively poor pill structure a serviceable lighter is obtained. A pill constructed in this way will last an indefinite period and the useful life of a battery will be greatly extended by the aid of this pill.

The form'shown in Fig. 3 includes additional wires 01, connecting the wad g with the resistance f to quicken the communication I of heat between these two devices.

nation of an electrical resistance and a pill adapted to become heated in the presence of flowing gas, said resistance and pill being located within heating distance of'each other.

4. A gas-igniier consisting of platinum foil adapted to be thrust into flowing gas, in combination. with means for raising the temperature of the foil.

5. A gas igniter consisting of platinum foil, in combination with means for passing a current'of electricity through the foil.

6. The combination of a battery-casing of insulating material, a battery-cell therein having a conducting-casing, a spring circuitcloser embedded in the battery-casing and projecting outside thereof, and adapted to be forced into contact with the battery-cell, and a gas-igniter operated by said circuit-closer.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE B. WILCOX..

Witnesses:

WALDO M. CHAPIN, FRANK S. OBER. 

